


The Stranger

by BlueRosary



Category: One Piece
Genre: Adoption, All platonic/Familial relationships, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Blood and Injury, Decapitation (mentionned), Divination, Father-Son Relationship, Fighting, Fluff, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Hints of Lawlu (very brief), Illnesses, Jealousy, Mild Language, Minor Original Character(s), Minor character death (mentionned), Nightmares, One of them has to die offscreen to be reincarnated, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tarot, They swear sometimes, but their new self are alive and well in the story!, graphic depiction of violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-17
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-03-20 11:57:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13717200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRosary/pseuds/BlueRosary
Summary: 40 years after the infamous battle in Marineford and the death of Whitebeard, a child was adopted on a tiny Island in East blue.He had a dark skin, fluffy black hair, and couldn't tie his shoes or brush his hair alone yet ; but he already lived more than his share of experiences for a lifetime. Not that he went through much at the moment, he was only three, but his past life as Donquixote Rosinante though; that was another story entirely.





	1. Of all the strangers you're the strangest that I see

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm Rosary! I love reincarnation stories, family, and Rosinante, so I decided to write a fic mixing all of these together (with some Law, Heart pirates and Doflamingo too of course). It's my first fic in a long while and English isn't my first language, so feel free to tell me if you see any grammar or spelling mistakes! :D 
> 
> All the tags mentionning violence are for later chapters, so I'll put some warnings in the beginning notes when they'll be relevant!
> 
> I loved writing this fic, and I hope you'll like reading it too! :D
> 
> Thanks to my wonderful sister and beta Rainette for her precious help along the way!
> 
> Have fun!

  
  
  
  
40 years after the infamous battle in Marineford and the death of Whitebeard, a child was adopted on a tiny Island in East blue.

He had a dark skin, fluffy black hair, and couldn't tie his shoes or brush his hair alone yet ; but he already lived more than his share of experiences for a lifetime. Not that he went through much at the moment, he was only three, but his past life as Donquixote Rosinante though; that was another story entirely.

He wasn't aware of it however, as his fairly recent and newborn body was free of any of those memories. But his heart - his soul - it did remember. Unconsciously, but it did.

That's why one day, when he was five years old and sitting on his mother's lap as they ate breakfast, he gasped out loud and snatched the journal she was reading when he saw a specific picture. It was of a man with a white dotted hat, wearing a black shirt with a heart pattern on it and looking grumpy. The kid immediately perked up.

"MOM WHO IS THIS?!" He shouted, turning toward her and barely missing to hit their heads.

"Rosi, be careful please," his mom, a young lady with a brown skin and curly black hair tied back with a green and white cloth, admonished gently. "Who?"

Rosi pointed to the picture, barely able to contain his excitement.

"This pirate?"  
  
"HE'S A PIRATE?!" That's so cool! What was his name? How old was he? Did he liked being a pirate?!

His second mother laughed, leaning on the table slightly. She had a light skin, long orange hair and was pretty muscular. "What about pirates?" She asked, intrigued.

Rosi threw the open journal in her direction, grinning widely and jumping into place (to his first mom's chagrin). "HIM! WHO IS IT, WHO IS IT, I CAN'T READ!!"

She giggled and took the paper, her eyes moving as she looked over it. "It would seem that it's Trafalgar Law!"

Rosi stilled, staring into space. Trafalgar Law. The name made something stir inside his chest, like happiness but somewhat sad at the same time.

"What's going on sweetie?" Asked the woman who's lap he was sitting on, touching his cheek softly.

"Is he scaring you?" His other mother said. "You don't have anything to worry about, pirates don't come near here! And mama'll protect you anyway!"

Rosi shook his head vehemently and looked at her with as much confidence as he could muster.

"I WANNA MEET HIM!!"

And he did.

Five years later, when they learned that Law was holding a medical conference on an island close enough for them to go to. At the time, Rosi had turned ten and was thrilled to finally meet his idol (not to mention that by then he had collected all the pirate's wanted posters and had a hundred drawings of Law and his crew plastered on his bedroom walls).

The city where it was taking place took Law's visit as a good opportunity to make some money, and was organizing a big fair dowtown. Since they had some time ahead, and after gaining his mothers approval, Rosi went further away to check on some stands.

There were so many new and interesting things to look at; balloons, cotton candies, plushies and games, it was almost dizzying. He stopped at a shooting stand, watching other people play there for a while, and wondered if he could play too. Turning around to go ask his mothers, he feebly tried to make his way back through the crowd - his small height making it harder than he expected.

When he finally managed to get away from the mass of people pushing him from everywhere, he found himself in a place that he hadn't been before, with his mothers nowhere in sight. Panic quickly rising in his chest, he began to circle the area for endless minutes, unaware that the background noise of the fair drowned his voice as he called for his parents. However just as he was about to give up, tears in his eyes and thinking that his mothers walked away without him, he caught the eye of a passerby.

It was a boy, maybe the same age as him or less, with short dirty blond hair and a tan skin. He was wearing some kind of convoluted googles with dark pink reflective lenses and pretty (but clearly old and weary) clothes, composed of a white shirt, short pants with a colorful cover-up tied around his hips, and boots.

Usually he would have been happy about the attention and the possibility of someone's help in such a scary moment. But this time, when their eyes locked, Rosi screeched in the most unholy way and ran the opposite direction like his life depended on it.

He didn't really know why he did that or if this was a good idea at all, but he knew for sure that this kid was dangerous somehow. Or well, his instinct told him so anyway. Luckily for him he didn't have to go very far for his mothers to finally come into view (a miracle), and with a huge relief mixed with a bit of desperation, he climbed to one of their dresses and hid behind it; almost knocking them both over in the process.

"Rosi, what are you-?!"

Ignoring his mom he pushed his face into the soft cloth of her garment and stayed there, his chest hurting a bit from the rush of adrenaline and his eyes stinging - but finally feeling safe. He tried to steal a glance around his mother to check if his assaillant had followed him, and unfortunately, he did.

"Rosi what's going on?" Asked the woman with orange hair, the one he was hiding behind. "Who's this?"

Rosi whined in answer, his heart still beating fast in his ears.

"Wait, did he hurt you?"

The stranger scoffed. "No I didn't!"

"Then why does he looks so upset?" His second mom, the one with black curly hair, asked with a calm voice.

"I don't know!"

"But you just ran after him, how could you not know?"

"I- I just don't know!" Sunglasses boy barked, losing patience. "I simply looked at him and he began yelling and running away, what was I supposed to do?!"

His parents exchanged a curious glance, redirecting their focus on Rosi.

"Is this true?"

He faltered under the sudden attention, promptly hidding his face in the dress again.

"Rosi," his second mother kneeled beside him, gently placing a hand on his back. "Is this really what happened?"

He couldn't really explain that his belly had been giving off signals of life-threatening levels since he saw the other boy, it wouldn't sound very convincing. So instead he stayed silent and pouted dejectingly, tears in his eyes.

"It's okay," she said, pushing some air from his face. "We won't scold you, we just want to know if someone hurted you that's all."

" _I_ didn't hurt him." Said the other kid, arms crossed.

"Yeah, you made that clear." Replied the woman Rosi was using as a shield, to what the stranger only huffed in return.

After some time though, Rosi opened his mouth hesitantly.

"He didn't _really_ do or say anything special, he just... scares me. Like he's gonna kill me or something." He whispered at the end.

His moms looked surprised, if a bit worried, but were thankfully quick to reassure him.

"You shouldn't worry sweetie, we won't let anyone hurt you." Said the one crouched next to him.

"Yeah, and even less a little ass like this one!" Announced the other proudly.

"HEY!"

"What, is there a problem?"

"Yes, I didn't even hurt your fucking kid in the first place!"

"Watch your mouth brat!"

"Why should I watch my mouth and not you, _you're_ the adult!"

Rosi couldn't help the snort that escaped him, hastily covering his mouth even though the other child was already giving him a confused look (or was he? It was kind of hard to discern through these goggles).

"Jackie, apologize please." His other mom said, standing up from her crouching position and elbowing her wife.

"But- why should I apologize Delphine, I'm not the one who-!"

"Apologize, _please_." She hissed between clenched teeth.

"Okay okay..." She sighed. "Sorry kid."

Sunglasses boy scoffed, looking them up and down with as much smugness his small stature could muster. A heavy silence followed, only punctuated by the noises of the fair around them.

"Why are you here by the way?" Sunglasses asked abruptly, surprising everyone.

"Uh, to see Trafalgar Law?" Jackie answered with a quirked brow.

"Figures," the boy huffed. "Everyone's here to see him. Such a waste of time really, he might look cool and all but he's just a dumb sleep-deprived old ass."

This... wasn't what they were expecting at all. Rosi clenched his fists on his mother's dress, how dare this guy talk about Law that way?

"And uh... how would you know about that?" Jackie continued, voicing his thoughts.

"I would know since he's my dad," he replied with a disinterested shrug. "Or guardian, or whatever. Hey," he jerked his head in Rosi's direction. "I bet you're the one who wanted to see him right?"  
  
Rosi nodded timidly, wondering if he was going to be teased or not for it. Apparently yes if the look of utter disgust on the boy's face was any indication.

"Knew it," the blond shook his head, seemingly thinking of something for a while. "I can help you see him though if you want."

The sudden change in behaviour took them all by surprise, nobody reacting immediately.

"Well... That would be very nice, thank you." His other mom said.

The boy waved a hand dismissively and turned on his heels, walking away. When he saw that they weren't immediately following him he motioned for them to quicken their pace, and after exchanging questioning glances they did as told warily.

Rosi stayed glued to his mothers' side all the way, eyeing "Law's son" suspiciously. In every book or journal he had read in his life he never ever heard of Law having a child in any way, but since his parents seemed to believe the boy he had no other choice but to do the same. For the time being at least.

After a few minutes of walking through the crowd they eventually arrived in the town's harbor, Rosi craning his neck to try and find their boat in the multitude of ships docked there. And here it was, a few feet from them and squished between two monstruous vessels. It was a tiny thing they bought a long time ago, rusty and simple, but his mothers were taking a good care of it and it was enough for them.

Up ahead, a huge barrier of guards (town guards? They didn't look like marines anyway) were standing and closing access to a particularly big and weird boat. Wait _boat_? Suddenly it clicked in Rosi's head, it wasn't a boat it was a submarine! A pleasant chatter was flowing through the air as a mass of people had gathered around the Polar tang, watching it with different levels of interest.

Sunglasses boy advanced proudly, hands in his pockets and looking like he was owning the place, and stopped right before a guard.

"I'm Dorian. Let me and these guys pass," he threw a thumb behind him to indicate the little family standing a little ways away.

The guards looked unconvinced. One of them was about to say something when a booming voice, resonating throughout the port and surprising everyone nearby, cut him short.

"DORIAN, WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?!"

The so called "Dorian" jumped a bit, watching a very upset man storms off towards him from the entry of the submarine. He was wearing a black, short-sleeved shirt exposing his tattoos, with leopard printed pants, and a really special white hat sporting a similar pattern.

Rosi gasped aloud. It's Law!

The pirate pushed aside the two poor guards and catched Dorian by the ear, pulling on it.

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU NOT TO GO OUTSIDE ALONE ALREADY!"

Dorian struggled unsuccessfully to get free from his grasp.

"I DO WHAT I WANT!" He shouted, furiously tugging on Law's arm.

"If you do this again I swear I'll put Bepo on full babysitting duty, and you'll NEVER be left alone ever again you hear me?!"

"WHAT?! BUT THAT'S SO UNFAIR!"

"What's unfair is me having to send everyone searching for your ass when we have better things to do!" He released him, and Dorian stumbled back a bit before falling butt first on the ground. Rubbing his ear he stood up quickly, shoved Law aside, and made his way fuming to the submarine.

Law ran a hand on his face, looking up at his surroundings for the first time since he appeared, and finally noticed the mass of curious people that had accumulated. His eyes widened and he cleared his throat self-consciously, bowing his head a little.

"Sorry about this."

Silence fell over the port as everyone stared at him, astounded. During the altercation Rosi's mothers took a few steps back, pulling their child securely against them.

Law straightened and made a move to go back, but his eyes catched Rosi's in passing and he stopped dead in his tracks.


	2. Came out of the Ocean like you came out of a dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old friend reappear in Law's life. Or alternatively : Law thinks that he might be losing his mind.
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks to my beta Rainette once again!!

  
  
  
  
  
  
"You're absolutely sure it was him?"  
  
"Yes!"

"But you said he died like... more than 40 years ago, so how is it even possible?"  
  
"I don't know, but I'm _absolutely sure_ it was him Bepo, I swear!!"  
  
Inside the Polar Tang - in the captain's private room - Law and one of his closest friend and navigator, Bepo, were discussing the strange events that just unfolded. The captain was sitting at the edge of his bed, his head between his hands and one of his leg moving restlessly up and down while Bepo stared at him from the desk chair a bit farther away.  
  
"Captain, are you sure you weren't hallucinating?"  
  
"YES I'M SURE!" Law barked, making the bear flinch.  
  
He immediately regretted his outburst though, and mumbled an awkward apology that the bear readily accepted with a nod. A few minutes passed in tense silence as Law bit at his nails absently - feeling Bepo's eyes on him at all times. He knew that the navigator reproved of this behavior but at the moment it was the only thing preventing him from punching a wall.  
  
All of a sudden though Bepo gasped.  
  
"Wait," he said, dread in his voice. "Does that mean we tranquilized you for nothing?!"

  
A little earlier that day  
  
  
  
Law couldn't believe his eyes.  
  
In all logic he knew that it shouldn't be possible. The kid didn't even look anything like _him_ ; he was too small, too different, too young (he couldn't be sure but certainly not more than ten years old). And there was the undeniable fact that this particular person was supposed to be _dead and gone_ for the better part of the past _fifty years_ , also making it quite difficult for him to be there.  
  
But every logical thoughts Law might have had melted in the face of the all-encompassing and crushing feeling that the person in front of him, staring back with a big uneven smile missing some baby teeth, was his old friend and benefactor from all those years ago - Corazon.  
  
Feeling his legs turn to jelly and his vision blur at the edges, Law ran a trembling hand on his face. Was this real? Or another dream? He never believed in things like reincarnation much more than Luffy believed in vegetarianism (and knowing himself he wasn't going to change his mind anytime soon).  
  
But then why did this kid threw his world upside down just by being there? Why was Law suddenly feeling so hopeful, scared, and sick at the mere prospect of seeing Corazon alive again? And if it was actually him, did his friend just... got a second chance at life or something?  
  
Maybe he was finally losing it. Honestly it was a long time coming, even he was a bit surprised that he didn't see Cora pop up randomly before that day.  
  
Looking back at the location of the kid, Law was surprised to find himself near desperate when he couldn't see him anymore. During his internal monologue, Cora was gone.  
  
Panick rushing through him, he was about to make a run for it when a hand on his shoulder stopped him abruptly.  
  
"Captain, are you alright?"

It was Bepo, watching him with worry.  
  
"What's going on?" The bear asked. "Is there a problem?"  
  
Law ignored his navigator's concern to look through the mass of people once again, the attempt proving to be just as pointless as the first time. Breathing a sigh, he turned to Bepo and grabbed his arms tightly.  
  
"I saw him Bepo," he ushed in a trembling voice. "He was here, Cora!"

The bear frowned, clearly confused, but still took a peek at the crowd in case he might see him too.  
  
"Don't bother, he's gone!" Law hissed, shaking his friend. "Take care of Dorian 'till I'm back, I'm going for him."  
  
But before Law could even make a step forward, Bepo catched him by the waist and pulled him up in a solid embrace, placating his arms on his sides firmly.  
  
"Bepo, what are you doing?!"

"Captain did you drink again?" The bear sighed, turning to the Polar tang and carrying Law like an oversized doll. "Doctors really never take care of themselves".  
  
"BEPO, LET ME GO!" Yelled Law, swinging his feet and trying to free himself from the death grip to no avail. "THIS IS AN ORDER FROM YOUR CAPTAIN! BEPO!"  
  
"No can do, last time I did that you ended up passed out on the sidewalk, I learned my lesson."  
  
" **BEPO!** " Law cried, struggling something fierce. Unfortunately for him though, his friend was not relenting one bit, and even made his way back to the submarine as rapidly as possible to not let his captain any further chance of escape.  
  
"BEPOOOOOOOooooooo!"  
  
Law's cry got thinner and thinner, until nobody could hear him from the outside anymore.  
  
But he did not go without a fight.  
  
He kicked and bit and headbutted anyone trying to calm him down. By then most of the Heart pirates had heard about Law's history one way or another (with different levels of details depending on his mood), so when they saw their Captain claiming loudly that Cora was alive, apparently now a _kid_ , and that he needed to find him _right the fuck now_ they all thought that he was out of his mind. In the end he was so agitated that they had no other choice but to use tranquillisers on him.  
  
The drugs quickly took effect, and eventually Law melted into Bepo's embrace, as relaxed as he could ever be. The crew breathed a single sigh of relief and Bepo took Law's sleeping figure to the Captain's quarters, laying him down delicately on his bed. When it was certain that Law was okay and wouldn't wake up anytime soon in a frenzy of kicks and punches, everyone went back to their respective posts as Bepo took the task of keeping an eye on him.  
  
  
  
Back to the present  
  
  
  
"I'm so sorry Captain..." Bepo whined in his paws, his big frame curled up on the small chair.  
  
"It's okay," Law shrugged, a bit embarassed. "I _was_ a bit... hysterical after all."  
  
"Yeah... Do you think he's far away already?"  
  
"Cora? No idea, I hope not."  
  
Bepo whimpered and clawed at his face. "I'm so sorry Captain! ...Oh, maybe we can dispatch a search unit?" He said, eyes gleaming with optimism.  
  
"Maybe... Though I don't think it'll be easy to find him with the fair ongoing."  
  
"Ah, right..." The navigator deflated.

Law sighed. This whole situation still felt really weird, and at this point he was seriously beginning to doubt his mental state. He went as far as attacking his own crew for crying out loud, it could have lead to some serious injuries or worse! He'd never forgive himself if anything happened to them because of him (he would have to call them into the infirmary for a check up later though, just in case).  
  
But first he had to find Cora. Or the kid. Or whatever he was supposed to be because it was very confusing. Honestly Law was awfully tempted to just forget all about this day and move on with his life.  
  
It seemed absolutely unreasonable to hunt down a poor kid just to ask him "Hey, are you the reincarnation of my old friend and savior Corazon who died like fifty years ago? Because wow you sure make me think of him". It was weird and inappropriate to say the least, and he wouldn't blame the kid's parents for kicking his ass in answer.  
  
But not making sure was, somehow, even worse. Because it would haunt him for the rest of his life if he didn't at least try.  
  
However as Bepo and him were both lost in thought trying to come up with a solution, the door abruptly opened to reveal Dorian, all angry pout and wounded pride put aside as he walked into the room with his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Hey," The boy said, like he didn't just barged into the captain's private quarters uninvited. "What was that all about earlier?"  
  
Law blinked.  
  
"Since when do you come in here without my permission?" He demanded with a frown.  
  
Dorian pondered for literally less than two seconds. "Since now."  
  
Law sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb.  
  
"So, what's up?" Dorian insisted.  
  
"None of your business."  
  
The boy didn't even raise an eyebrow, thoroughly unimpressed, and went to stand a few feet in front of his father.  
  
"Is it because of this kid everyone's talking about?"  
  
How did he- Law glared in Bepo's direction.  
  
"Sorry," the bear lifted his shoulders up to his ears with a sheepish smile. "Everyone's worried so I had to explain a thing or two."  
  
Great. He must have made the biggest fool out of himself, talk about a reliable Captain.  
  
"Yes it's about that kid. Why?" Law grumbled, massaging his temples.  
  
Dorian hummed, scratching his chin idly.  
  
"What does he looks like exactly?"  
  
Law quirked a brow.  
  
"Why do you care?"  
  
"Just curiosity."  
  
"… Brown skin, black hair, small stature..." He tried to remember other details but came up short, except for : "And there were two women accompagnying him I think. Again, why?"  
  
Dorian had the most mischievious smile when he said "I think I know him."  
  
Law jumped off his bed and leaped on Dorian, grabbing him by the shoulders.  
  
"WHERE IS HE?!"  
  
Dorian didn't immediately answer, looking straight at his dad with barely concealed surprise from behind his pink sunglasses, until he threw his head back in a booming laughter.  
  
"YOU LOOK SO UPSET, WHAT THE FUCK!"  
  
Groaning in frustration, Law pushed him away and sagged back on his bed, running a hand on his face tiredly. Bepo, as the dutiful co-guardian that he was (along with all the other Heart pirates actually), decided that it was time to intervene.  
  
"This is no laughing matter young man, you will apologize right now!" He said, a clawed finger raised in some sort of meek warning.  
  
Dorian froze into place, blinking, and made an ugly snorting sound as he curled up on himself - laughing even harder at the weak attempt at authority. The two adults exchanged a glance, a mutual feeling of exhaustion passing between them. When Dorian finally calmed down, a whole five minutes later, he took off his sunglasses and wiped out a tear.  
  
"No but seriously," he said, taking a deep breath and trying to regain his composure. "I came here because I really DO know him." He accentuated his claim by putting one palm up in a peaceful gesture, which was not the slightest bit convincing when he was still giggling like crazy.  
  
Law rolled his eyes and waved a hand in a "keep going" motion. He had nothing to lose after all.  
  
"Okay, well I met him in the streets this morning when I was walking around the fair. He looked panicked so I was wondering what was going on, but when he saw me he yelled and ran like I was some sort of monster."  
  
"Understandable." Law nodded, receiving a piercing glare from Dorian.  
  
"Yeah... so I followed him, and we had a little fight with his moms - because yeah those are his mothers. Apparently he thought I wanted to kill him," he huffed. "We clarified the situation and after that I figured out that they wanted to see you." He stopped to murmur to himself. "God knows why."  
  
Such a supportive child he was.  
  
"And then I offered to help them, since y'know, I could." He shrugged.  
  
Law raised an eyebrow. People coming to see him was no big deal (he came to this Island for that reason after all), but Dorian helping strangers out of the kindness of his heart though, _that_ was new. And kind of concerning to be honest.  
  
"And you did that... just because?" He asked, now interested.  
  
"Yeah, why? You got a problem with that?" Dorian growled.  
  
"No, not at all."  
  
"Great," the boy slid his sunglasses back on his nose and put his hands in his pockets casually. "Anyway you ended up making a scene, so thanks to that I don't know where they are now."  
  
If all this was just a very convoluted way to complain about him, Law had to applaud the kid's efforts because he hadn't seen that one coming.  
  
"Okay, so you actually have no informations."  
  
"His name's Rosi," Dorian said with a smug smile. "Kind of a weird name but, eh."  
  
Rosi... Law searched in his memories where he might have heard something like that before, because it _did_ seem familiar. It kind of sounded like Rosi... nante? Law facepalmed. God, if it really ended up being a huge coincidence he would never get over it.  
  
"… Not weirder that the name Luffy gave you," he replied after a while, grinning slyly. "Still sure you don't want us to call you Steak?"

If glares could kill, Law would be dead already.  
  
" _Anyway_ ," Dorian growled. "I think I saw their boat, Rosi was staring at it when we arrived."  
  
Now _that_ was important, Law turned to Bepo who nodded back at him. The navigator jumped upright and looked at Dorian expectantly.  
  
"Can you describe it to me please?"

"Yeah sure. I think they might go to your big dumb conference too, they're kind of here to see you after all."  
  
That was two hours from then. He couldn't wait that long, not with the possibility that they didn't come to the conference at all and leave the island before he could even see them. Bepo seemed to figure out what he was thinking, because he gave him a reassuring thumb up.  
  
"Don't worry Captain! Thanks to Dorian we have more information, so we're gonna search the area just in case!"  
  
Law agreed with pinched lips, shakily getting up on his feet - the effects of the tranquilizers had mostly subsided, but he still felt a little weak on the knees. On his way to the door he ruffled Dorian's hair, to what the kid yelped and slapped his hand away.  
  
"Thanks." Law said, smiling down at him.  
  
"Yeah whatever. Maybe I can help you find him, he seems fun." Fun to mess with probably, but at least he was willing to help.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! It wasn't easy for Law and his crew in this chapter, but at least they know that Cora is back now (even though they had to deal with a very pissed Law in the process)!
> 
> And just in case there was any doubts about it, Dorian is actually Doflamingo reincarnated! Ah, the joys of raising your arch-nemesis.
> 
> Anyway thank you for reading, and I hope you liked this chapter! :D
> 
> As always feel free to leave kudos, comments, or help me with grammar or spelling mistakes! 
> 
> See you soon for the next chapter!!


	3. I've kept close watch upon you and I don't like what I see

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here comes Dorian!
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks again to my wonderful beta Rainette!

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
As he was standing against a far off wall in the hall used for the conference, Dorian yawned and wondered for the hundreth time why he suggested to help.  
  
The conference was simply an excuse for most people to meet the infamous "Surgeon of death" without losing a limb in the process (and for Law to make some easy money), so it wasn't that interesting to begin with and the kid that everyone made a fuss about earlier hadn't even shown up yet. So in short - he was bored out of his mind.  
  
Distantly, he wondered why this dude was so important to Law in the first place. Was he some kind of long lost kid or something? It was already awkward enough when Luffy came to visit, so Dorian had a hard time imagining his father with anyone else in a romantic setting.  
  
As he surveyed the seats again, the lights overhead suddenly dimmed and a bright neon zeroed in on the center of the scene. In the back, a large white wall was emcompassed in the dark and would soon be used to showcase different medical slides to the public.  
  
Dorian crossed his arms and sighed. This was going to be a long day.  
  
Or so he thought. Because as soon as Law stepped on the scene, the door to Dorian's left opened to let Rosi and his family in; all three of them looking around breathlessly like they just hurried there. Dorian detached himself from the wall and walked in their direction with renewned energy, _this_ was going to be fun.  
  
Being careful to stay out of their line of sight, he tiptoed his way right behind Rosi and tapped once on his shoulder, the resulting reaction being exactly the one he hoped as the other kid jumped into the air with a strident yelp.  
  
"Hi!" Dorian giggled with a wave.  
  
Rosi backtracked at the speed of light to hide behind his moms.  
  
"You again?" The beefy one said, crossing her arms.  
  
"Yeah," Dorian nodded at her dismissively. "We didn't have much time to talk earlier, so when I saw you I thought it would be nice to spend some time together!" He flashed his most innocent smile, the one that nobody in his crew believed in anymore.  
  
"Uh uh," she hummed, not sounding the least convinced. "Sorry kid maybe later, we're here to see Trafalgar Law."

"Yeah I got that, but it's just medical babbling! Maybe Rosi and I can play together until it's finished?" Dorian asked in a childish voice, inwardly cringing at his own tone.  
  
"Well," said the second woman with a sceptic frown. "Thank you but Rosi wants to be a doctor when he gets older, so I think it'll actually be good informations for him."  
  
Dorian's carefully crafted naive expression fell. They were not making this easy. And a _Doctor_? Really?  
  
“Ah,” he answered blankly. “Then maybe I can stay with you until the conference's finished? Not like I have anything better to do anyway.”

The two women glanced at each-other, before looking at Rosi in a silent question. He didn't seem to immediately notice them however, and just stared dubiously at Dorian from his hiding place. When he finally looked up and acknowledged that they were expecting something from him, he suddenly panicked and began to babble some nonsense.  
  
A mischievous smile stretched on Dorian's face as he watched Rosi fumble for something to say. Maybe he could make him even more flustered if he tried? Unfortunately his parents saved the boy from shame way too quickly to Dorian's taste.  
  
“Rosi, do you mind if... uh. Dorian?” Asked the orange haired woman.  
  
“Yup.”  
  
“If Dorian stays with us for now? Until it's finished.”  
  
Rosi wrinkled his nose in apparent dislike for the idea, and his mother didn't even wait for his answer as she turned to Dorian with a sympathetic smile.  
  
“Sorry kid, maybe another time 'kay?”  
  
Dorian heaved a long-suffering sigh. If they wanted it that way, well so be it.  
  
He stayed still for a second, acting like he was sulking about the refusal, and before any of them could properly react he suddenly dashed forward to grab Rosi by the waist - pulling him up against him - and ran to a door further away that he procedeed to kick open.

Seeing that it was leading to a long hallway (probably used by the staff of the conference hall), he bolted in it and got as far away from the yelling voices behind him as possible, pushing aside any people that were unfortunate enough to be in his way. And honestly, he hadn't have this much fun in a while!  
  
However, a kick in his gut made him falter a bit. Apparently Rosi was not only heavy, but trying to defend himself too! Dorian tightened his hold on him with a grunt.  
  
“Don't move!” He ordered.  
  
But Rosi didn't seem willing to comply and thrusted his knee in Dorian's stomach ( _again_ ), making his abductor stop his mad race to bend over himself in pain, and allowing him to successfully climb out from his grasp. Then he kicked Dorian's shin for good measure, and managed to slip and fall on his backside during his escape.  
  
Dorian bursted out laughing at the sight (even though he wasn't in a much better position), but a hand suddenly lifted him off the ground by the neck of his shirt and cut him short. Turning around, he found himself facing a very, very angry mother.  
  
“...Hi!” He waved with a sloppy grin.  
  
She did not seem amused. When the other followed suit (the orange haired one) and shot him a heated glare on her way to help her son, Dorian thought that maybe upsetting TWO mothers wasn't his best idea of the day. Or ever.  
  
But that was before his own Dad appeared, all loud steps, crimson face and a vein comically popping out on his forehead.  
  
“I can't believe you just did that. I CAN'T BELIEVE!” He yelled, coming to a stop next to Dorian.  
  
“WELL, in my defense YOU were the one who wanted to see him! I just took drastic measures is all!” If he had to throw his dad under the bus to get out of this he _would_.  
  
The two women turned to Law with wide eyes, the captain looking like a deer in headlights.  
  
“Uh, n-no I mean, I did want to see him but not like that! And absolutly _not_ for bad reasons I swear, I wanted to talk because he reminds me of someone I knew but only with your permission!” He had thrown his hands up in an "I'm not armed" way during his explanation, and finished with a glare Dorian's direction. “If my stupid _crazy kid_ hadn't went and _kidnapped him_!”

“Oh, now it's MY fault!”  
  
“YES IT IS!”  
  
“I was not the one throwing a tantrum a few hours ago, calling for a fucking buster call over an UNKNOWN KID!”  
  
“WH-WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU-”

“ **STOP!** ”  
  
The woman still holding Dorian cut their argument sharply.  
  
“First of all it's not the right time nor place to fight, as people are watching and I don't think anyone here want to share their private life in public,” she admonished in a calm but firm voice.  
  
They spared a glance behind her, and just like she said people were actually gathering in the small hallway to watch them with barely contained curiosity.

“And secondly,” she continued. “Since the moment we set foot on this Island, your son kept scaring our child. I can understand that the first time might have been an accident, but I don't believe this one was. So an apology would be a good thing to begin on healthier bases."

Silence fell over the small space, all the attention focused on Dorian and Law.  
  
“I'm waiting,” she said patiently.  
  
Dorian was literally flabbergasted by this woman, she had guts to talk like that to an ex-warlord and infamous pirate like Law. Next to him, the latter cleared his throat awkwardly.  
  
“I... I'm sorry for all the trouble on behalf of my child. I should have kept a better eye on him and I won't let it happen again. I also apologize for making you think that I would hurt your son in any way, and can promise with all my hear that I would never do."  
  
It was the first time Dorian ever saw his dad give up and apologize so easily before, and it was... weird, to say the least. And kind of disappointing. Rosi's mom finally let him go, and softly straightened the part of his shirt she had been holding with her hand.

"Thank you Mr.Trafalgar." She said with a small smile.  
  
Law nodded stifly in return and went to slap Dorian on the back of the head. "OUCH?!"  
  
"Remember what I said about Bepo on babysitting duty? Because that's happening."

"WHAT?! BUT THAT'S NOT FAIR!"  
  
Law didn't gratify him with an answer and turned to look at the curly haired woman, an undertone of anxiety slipping in his usualy steady and strong voice.  
  
"Is it possible to talk with you and your family? I have something I would like to ask."  
  
She turned to her wife standing opposite them with Rosi in her arms, and gave them a slight nod as if to ask for their opinion. A quick discussion in hushed voices ensued and, surprisingly enough, it was Rosi who replied.

"Okay, but just because it's Mr. Law who asked." He said quietly, looking away.  
  
Law's face brightened immediately, the corners of his mouth turning upward into a hopeful smile.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Dorian didn't like it one bit.  
  
A discussion did happen, but Dorian wasn't invited to it. Apparently Rosi and his mothers didn't want him in a ten feet radius and everybody had agreed with it. Like it was all _his_ fault. He was just trying to help, really! Yes okay he liked to try unconventional ways, and if it made people mad it was a nice addition, but still. Good intentions.  
  
He got the summary of the talk by Bepo during dinner, while the whole crew was eating into the mess hall. It was a big space with comfy pillows and hammocks scattered a bit everywhere, along with a large table surrounded by chairs in the middle, and a little sink standing in the left corner. People often ate at the table but sometimes laid out cozily on a pillow as well.  
  
"It went pretty great!" Announced Bepo happily as he cleaned some dishes in the wash basin (though most of the plates slipped in his paws). "Law is by no means a smooth talker, but he managed to regain some of their trust, and they agreed to let us meet them once a month on their Island!"  
  
Dorian dropped his fork.  
  
"What?!" He cried out. "We're gonna change our whole itinerary to go on a dumb Island EVERY month?! It's so stupid!"  
  
Taking his utensil back, he began to pick at his meal - some fried chicken with pees and carrots. They always tried to feed him some vegetables and as much healthy food as they could get (in a submarine it wasn't always easy) so he would grow up in good conditions. Though in all honesty, the young boy would have prefered some seafood or lobster, even if the last one was quite expensive.  
  
"Yeah, but it's important for the Captain so we're doing it!" Added Shachi, eating idly on one of the comfiest bean bag of the room. "He must have looked like a weirdo though, suddenly coming out of nowhere and asking to talk to their kid!"  
  
"A renowned pirate taking interest in your kid would scare anyone away." Said Jean Bart under his breath next to Dorian.  
  
"Yeah I guess," Bepo shrugged. "But Law must have explained the situation clearly, and they understood that he had no ulterior motives. He has no reason to hurt them anyway!" His optimism was unwavering as he turned around in a happy swirl and accidently splashed dish water on everyone nearby, a chorus of insanities following and making Dorian laugh. But something Bepo mentionned suddenly bothered him.

"What's to explain, by the way? Is this kid Law's long lost bastard or something?" He asked while chewing loudly on the chicken, which was a bit too raw.  
  
The whole room stared at him in bewielderment.  
  
"What?" Dorian looked at them with surprise, quite unsure of what mistake he might have made.  
  
No one seemed eager to answer, all sharing some uneasy looks, until Ikkaku (the only woman in their crew) broke the silence.  
  
"Uhm... you already know who Corazon is right?"  
  
Yeah sure, he was Law's friend, helped him survive a difficult time in his youth and was killed soon after. He never got the details but still knew the big parts at least.  
  
"Yeah," he shrugged non-committaly.  
  
She nodded in return, nudging some food on her plate as she stood against a wall.  
  
"And you heard what Law said when we took him back into the submarine thrashing around today, right?"  
  
Dorian searched in his memory, something about Corazon, him being back, needing to find a kid shortly, and so on... That's what lead him to go talk to Law about Rosi in the first place. Even if it was more of a way to mess with his dad than anything else, but nobody had to know.  
  
"Yeah," he said, suddenly interested. "Why? What's the connection?"  
  
Ikkaku glanced at Bepo, this one drying his paws on a worn-out towel, and he wrinkled his snout.

"Well, we were kind of nervous about how you would take it," he began unsteadily. "But Law said that this kid might be... Corazon, actually?"  
  
What?  
  
"What?!" Dorian blurted eloquently.  
  
"Like his reincarnation or... something." Said Bepo, apparently just as confused as him.  
  
Dorian checked every person in the room to see if they were joking, if someone was going to burst out laughing and slap him on the back, but none of them did.  
  
"You're not serious," he said in disbelief. "Reincarnation?! Law doesn't believe in that shit!"  
  
"Careful Dorian." Warned Bepo with a frown.  
  
"Yeah yeah, sorry... in that  _stuff_ ."  
  
The bear sighed. "Anyway, he came back completely transfixed earlier and swore it was Mister Cora, he was so absolutly sure of it."  
  
Dorian scowled, that didn't look like Law. What was up with him recently?  
  
"Are you sure he didn't try some drugs or something?"  
  
There was an immediate clammor of "NO, NOT OUR CAPTAIN!" that squished him from all sides. Okay he might not be under some weird stuff, but he still got very unlike himself very quickly, was nobody going to adress that? Shachi stood up from his spot and went to stand beside Dorian, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.  
  
"Don't worry about it, he might just miss Mister Cora more than usual lately! And he just... saw something in this kid that reminded him of the guy and had this insane protective instinct awakening! It doesn't mean that he's replacing you, okay?" He smiled at him.  
  
Dorian looked down at his plate, the vegetables and chicken mostly cold at this point, and cut the meat in tiny little pieces distractingly.  
  
"... Yeah okay."  
  
Shachi sighed, and despite the fact that he got  _the best place in the whole room_ , went to sit next to Dorian to finish his meal. No need to mention that the beanbag was stolen almost instantly by another crewmate, making Dorian laugh whole heartily while Shachi looked outraged at the thief.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shachi : PENGUIN YOU TRAITOR!
> 
> Penguin : It's steal or be stolen dude.
> 
> Shachi : WE'RE FRIENDS?!
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading!! Hope you liked it! :D 
> 
> As always feel free to leave kudos, comments, or help me with grammar or spelling mistakes! 
> 
> I always love having your feedback!
> 
> See you soon! :D


	4. Your voice it sounds familiar but you are not what you seem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Law finally talks with Rosi (or tries at least).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry for the long delay on this chapter!
> 
> I was quite busy lately, but all your kind comments and kudos helped me find the motivation to finish writing it!
> 
> Thanks to all of you!!
> 
> And as always thanks to my wonderful beta Rainette too! :D

  
  
  
  
  
  
A month after the events of the conference, the Polar tang anchored at the small Island where Cora and his family lived.  
  
Their house was located on a small hill a little farther from the first harbor town, and accordingly to their wishes Law began his small journey across farm fields and old weary paths alone.  
  
During the fifteen minutes walk it took to reach his destination, he couldn't help but wonder for the hundreth time if he wasn't actually making a huge mistake.  
  
The thought he might just be seeking Cora through someone else, unfairly projecting him on a random child that happened to bear some resemblance with him, never left him these days. It did seem like the most logical explanation in indsight, but it was also the one he liked the least as it implied that he hadn't grieved as well as he first thought.

Even after all these years.  
  
His train of thoughts stopped when he noticed that the ground under his feet had turned to soft grass - the path also leaning a bit higher - and he looked up to find the tiny house he was searching for, sitting on a small green hill.  
  
He breathed deeply and tried to regain some of his usual composure. There he was. No turning back now.  
  
He climbed it easily enough, the familiar weight of his weapon Kikoku (left in the submarine as a show of his goodwill) missing at his side, and upon reaching the top was surprised to see that the house was even smaller than he anticipated.  
  
It consisted of one on-the-ground floor with white walls, an old red wooden door, and shutters painted in a similar color. A light smoke was wavering from a tiny chimney standing on a faded-out crimson roof, and overall it seemed way too small for three people to live in, but it still managed to emanate a charming and welcoming aura somehow.  
  
Law crossed the few steps separating him from the door, a fist raised to knock, when it suddenly opened by itself to an orange haired, middle aged woman.  
  
"Here you are Mr. Trafalgar," she announced with a booming voice, "we thought you would never show up!"  
  
Law blinked, trying to register what just happened, and covered his face self-consciously with the visor of his hat.  
  
"Sorry, the way here was longer than I expected," he mumbled.  
  
"Ah yeah, it's a taxing walk alright," she laughed, clapping him on the shoulder with so much force Law almost fell over, "but it's all worth it if only for the nature and silence around here!" She turned back inside the house and cupped her mouth with her hand. "Delphine! Rosi! The doctor's here!"  
  
A huge crashing sound resonated from somewhere within it, immediately followed by muffled complaints and hurried steps.  
  
She giggled with a fond shake of her head and turned back, waving Law inside the house. "Come on in!"  
  
Law's eyes widened, and he brushed the space where his weapon should have been with the tip of his fingers nervously. He could do it. Cora might be in there, and he had to make sure that it was him or he would never stop thinking about it for the rest of his life.  
  
Taking a shaky breath in, he raised his head and finally crossed the threshold with a decisive step.  
  
The first thing that caught his eye was how cramped the interior was, the crowded living room barely the size of his cabin back in the submarine. The second was the astonishing number of colorful carpets and blankets carefully layed out everywhere on the floor (and even some furnitures).  
  
It left him utterly confused for the better part of a minute, until his brain helpfully conjured an image of Cora slipping and falling hard on his butt. Right.  
  
Aside from that a single round table sat in the middle of the space, some crayons and papers forgotten on it, with three chairs all around. At his left he noticed two doors (he assumed for the bedrooms), and a big cream-colored couch looking like it'd seen better days placed in between.  
  
On his right, a modest kitchen - with cooking tools and boxes of food haphazardly placed on the counter - showed a worrying number of burning marks, and a meager fridge decorated with drawings of organs (?) and weird surgeries was crammed in the remaining corner.  
  
Against the wall opposite him a bench had been draped with blankets and dragged under a big window, and was most likely used to take naps if the stuffed animals and pillows there were any indication.  
  
Throughout the house a myriad of books and encyclopedies were aligned on numerous sturdy shelves, going from fiction to historical and even some about traditional medicine, and eventually the only door left (next to the kitchen) seemed to lead to the bathroom.  
  
All in all it felt lived in and warm, with little things left here and there and a sweet food scent floating around.  
  
Before he could dwell more on it though, a woman with a dark skin and a pale green dress got out of one of the bedrooms with a child hiding behind her. All Law's previous doubts dissipated like soft smoke when he met the kid's eyes, only for the latter to yelp and disappear further away.  
  
"Hello Mr. Trafalgar," the woman said softly, catching his attention, "sorry for not being there sooner. Rosi fell from his bed and dragged his nightstand with him, creating quite a big mess."  
  
Law snorted. _So that's what the sound was_.  
  
"Don't worry about it." He waved a hand dismissively, smiling despite himself. "Is he alright at least?"  
  
"Oh yes, he didn't fall that hard thankfully. Right Rosi?"  
  
His mother gently urged him to get out, but the boy stubbornly hid his face in her dress and refused to move. Law frowned, not that he was expecting much in the first place but it was still weird to see Cora being so apprehensive of him.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, looking apologetic, "I think he's just a little nervous."  
  
Law nodded and crouched down in an attempt to appear less threatening.  
  
"Hey, you're uh... Rosi, right?"  
  
The kid nodded shyly in his mother's clothes. "I'm Trafalgar Law, care to get out of there so we can talk a little? I won't hurt you nor your mothers, don't worry."  
  
He waited a bit but was only met with silence. The orange haired woman from earlier sighed and gave Law a sympathetic smile.  
  
"Guess it's not for today. Too bad when you know how much he talks about you usually!"  
  
Law glanced at him one last time, hoping for a reaction, but Cora just hid further away. With a defeated sigh he eventually stood up, and reassured himself with the thought that it was only their first proper meeting after all and that there would be lot of others.  
  
That day he discovered that Rosi's mothers were a happy married couple, being in an undeniably healthy and loving relationship. The orange haired one, who he learned to be Jackie, always dressed in big and colorful skirts and dresses despite her difficult job at the fields. She liked to spent time with her family when she was not at her work, placing their well-being above all else, and was often found laughing or smoking (even though she mostly did it outside as to not bother anyone... most of the time). Overall she seemed to be a very nice, loud, and positive person.  
  
The second was named Delphine. She was way calmer and soft spoken than Jackie by nature. Law found out that she was a writer, working at home full time to watch over Rosi when her spouse wasn't there (which, admittedly, was often due to her job). She was the owner of the majority of the books in the house too, and was well versed in most subjects, in addition to being a great conversationalist. Cora was often glued to her side.  
  
Law got along pretty well with them, even if the first one reminded him strangely of the Strawhat's navigator for no particular reason.  
  
The second time they went to the Island, Rosi's mothers accepted to let some of Law's men inside their house. His crew was absolutly delighted at the prospect, sick of waiting at the village or in the submarine for their Captain.  
  
But much to his regret Bepo was in a constant state of babysitting duty with Dorian since the "incident", and thus unable to tag along with them. Not that he didn't like spending time with the kid, as he explained to Law, but he wanted to say hi too.  
  
Other than that Cora was still entirely noncommunicating, and Law began to worry that he might have a harder time getting through to him than he thought.  
  
The third time, Cora had turned eleven and was finally begining to open around Law, glancing at him curiously from the safety of Delphine's side but not hidden anymore. Which was a very welcomed sight after the first two visits.  
  
It was weird to see Cora being so shy and closed off after all.  
  
And that too, Law couldn't stop refering to him as Cora in his mind, and it frustrated him to no end. It was so bad that he almost slipped and said it in front of the kid. He did tell Cora's mothers about the reincarnation thing (there was no reason hiding it at this point) but he didn't want to make him even more wary than he already was by dropping _that_ bomb on him.  
  
Anyway, the fourth time he came to visit the family, Cora did not jump from his position to run to his mother the moment Law entered the house. He stayed where he was, drawing at the big round table, and simply watched Law with cautious eyes.  
  
"H-hi," Law said awkwardly. Damn it, he was too old for this.  
  
Cora made a weird surprised noise at the back of his throat, and - instead of fleeing like he always did at these moments - actually didn't move from his spot, only looking away and waving back timidly. It was the first time he ever interacted with him directly, and a bright joy filled Law's chest.  
  
Delphine smiled at their interaction, and invited the captain to sit in the vacant chair across from Cora.  
  
"I have to make lunch," she said, smiling at Law's incredulous expression, "you're not gonna stay standing until it's done right?"  
  
He would have liked it better actually. He was used to baby steps here, and that looked more like a giant leap.  
  
Breathing deeply, he tried to maintain a neutral facade as he eventually did as told. He took off his coat, putted it on the back of the chair, and sat down dutifully (albeit a bit abruptly if Cora's slight jump was any indication).  
  
Some of his men, including Shachi and Jean Barte (Giant Jean Barte who barely made it inside the house) scattered into the living room and found some places to sit as well.  
  
Law glanced curiously at what Cora was drawing. From upside down it wasn't that easy to decipher, but he managed to make up the shape of... a human being cut open? With different organs neatly disposed around them and a dagger- no, a scalpel, doing its job inside the poor lad's chest. And of course a lot of blood.  
  
"You like this kind of thing?" He asked without thinking, gauging the kid's reaction. Rosi stared back at him with wide eyes, the hand holding the crayon stopping in the middle of a movement, and Law inwardly cursed.  
  
"Yeah," he replied in a tiny voice. Oh, progress actually?  
  
"You're drawing a surgery, right?" He ventured, trying to keep the conversation going. "You want to be a surgeon or something?"  
  
"Yeah!" Cora beamed at him with a big toothy smile. Some baby teeth were still missing but it brought back memories from a long time ago, making Law grin despite himself.  
  
"Actually," Delphine said from the kitchen with an amused voice, "if he wants to be a doctor it's mostly because of you!"  
  
A general clamor from his crew bursted in the living room as Law felt a blush creeping furiously on his cheeks. He not only wanted to be a Doctor, but it was because of _him_?!  
  
"Captain it's so cute, you're his idol!" Squealed Shachi, next to a laughing Jean Barte clapping his own knee in obvious glee at the situation. Why did they have to make this weird, all traitors. ALL OF THEM.  
  
However, out of the corner of his eye, Law noticed Cora cowering from the sudden noise and quickly shushed his crew. When the room had quieted again, he turned to the kid and tried his most reassuring smile (which might have been a bit crooked despite his best effort).  
  
"You know, if you want to be like me it means that you'd have to be a pirate too," he said, mostly as a tease to lighten up the mood a bit.  
  
But Cora, having resumed his drawing, nodded eagerly without looking up. Wait, what?  
  
"You want to be a pirate?!" Asked Law in disbelief.  
  
"Urgh don't talk to me about that," his mom groaned, "I told him a hundred times already, being a doctor is okay but a pirate is too dangerous."  
  
"But Law can do both, so why not me?!" Replied Cora, surprising everyone by raising his voice for the first time since they met him. It was clearly a big subject of argument between the two of them.  
  
"Maybe, but he's an adult and he thought about it carefully before becoming a Pirate! Right Mr. Law?" She asked, looking expectantly at him.

Well, it was not like he could tell her that he chose to be a pirate at thirteen and planned some revenge plot for more than a decade. He glanced at his crew for help but they all looked as clueless as him.  
  
"Hm, yeah sure." He settled on, hoping it would do.  
  
"You see!" She put her hands on her hips smugly. When Cora pouted as a result, Law couldn't help but snort.  
  
The fifth time he came to visit Law brought a gift with him. When he entered the house Cora was on the couch playing with some goat stuffed-animal, but the moment he saw Law he jumped on his feet and dashed to the door with a big smile.  
  
The captain ruffled his hair instinctively like he would have done with Dorian, but retrieved his hand in a hurry when he registered the action. Cora just giggled though, and ran to the table where he sat on a chair and dangled his feet excitedly.  
  
Law blinked (it was kind of a surprising change in behavior) but was brought back from his stupor by Delphine inviting him to sit down. He took off his coat and draped it on the back of the chair, and as he sat dropped a big book that he was carrying up until then on the table.  
  
"What's this?" Asked Cora, inspecting it with a curious glint in his eyes.  
  
"It's a gift," Law answered.  
  
The kid's expression brightened.  
  
"For who?"  
  
"For your mom." Law bit back a smile.  
  
Cora deflated completely and slumped in his chair with a pout, making the captain break his feeble facade with a loud snort.  
  
"It's for you dummy, it's a medical book!" He patted its cover with a laugh.  
  
Cora stood up so fast Law thought he would get lightheaded, and grabbed his gift to bring it closer to him.  
  
"Thank you Mr. Law!" He squealed happily, hugging it tightly against him. Not losing any time he opened it and began reading its content, now thoroughly lost to the world.  
  
Law smiled, originally the book was a present from his own father. It was one of the easiest books to understand on the subject, filled with informative pictures about the human body, organs, bloodstream, muscles, etc... And written in a way that was meant to help you learn and not just throw medical garb at you, which honestly made it one of his favorites.  
  
When Cora told him he wanted to be a doctor he immediately thought about it. He would have gave it to Dorian in any other circumstances, but the kid didn't care about medicine, so at least it would be useful that way.  
  
When he saw Cora like that, with a passion he would have never suspected, so small and surprisingly shy, all the differences with his past self suddenly became very clear. Strangely enough though, Law didn't mind as much as he feared he would.  
  
Yes, it was unsettling seeing his old friend as a kid with a different appearance, some parts of his personality changed, a different life _without him;_ but the child was nice and had all the little quirks that made him familiar enough, so it was okay.  
  
Like his clumsiness, to his mothers' chagrin his tendency to set himself on fire (they told Law that they didn't know what to do about that anymore), his peculiar way of either over-reacting or not reacting at all, or even his kind and sensitive nature. Delphine had told him that one day she caught him crying while making a marine salute at a pile of clothes, Cora explaining to her that a stuffed-animal died in one of his games and that he was paying tribute to its makeshift grave.  
  
He _was_ different, but he was still Cora in the best ways.  
  
Law sighed and shook his head, he ought to stop calling him Cora by now. He had a new name after all.  
  
"Hey Rosi." He nodded in his direction.  
  
"Hm?" The kid looked up absentmindedly from his book.  
  
"You want me to teach you how to cut open a person?"  
  
Rosi gasped, immediately closing his gift and putting it on the table.  
  
"Yes please!"  
  
"You want to teach him _what_ now?!" Delphine said with a look of utter outrage.  
  
Law laughed out loud.  
  
"Just surgery, not fighting!" He amended, raising his hands in a pacifying way.  
  
She crossed her arms and squinted at him dubiously.  
  
"I'll talk about it later with Jackie, until then I won't allow any cutting open of anyone. If you want surgeries, you can always draw them."  
  
Rosi startled Law with a happy shriek, and jumped from his chair to go retrieve his crayons and papers. Did his mom just cryptically give her agreement or is he just that happy to draw surgeries?  
  
Rosi threw a box of crayons at the table, dropped off some sheets of paper in front of Law, and dragged his chair right next to the doctor before sitting again. He smiled up at Law and grabbed some blue chalk, begining his illustration with intense focus.  
  
And that's how Law spent the major part of his afternoon, drawings organs and surgeries with Rosi (who was really impressed by his art skills, and in all modesty Law indeed thought that the heart he drew was pretty cool).  
  
Jackie had returned home from her work while they were drawing, and found Rosi and Law in a big discussion consisting of the kid throwing questions at Law and the Captain answering as much of them as possible.  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"64."  
  
"Wow you're old!" The kid gasped, eyes wide.  
  
Law scoffed.  
  
"Not that old," he mumbled.  
  
"Why do you always wear a hat?"  
  
"Because my head's cold."  
  
"Really?" Asked Rosi in awe.  
  
Law tried to bit back a smile but failed.  
  
"You're lying!" Rosi shouted while Law barked an ugly, delighted laugh.  
  
The kid pouted, but continued drawing.  
  
"Why is there a bear in your crew?"  
  
"He's my friend."  
  
"Are you lying?" He squinted at him, but Law shook his head with an amused snort.  
  
"No, not this time."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"You swear?" He was still glancing at him sceptically.  
  
"I swear."  
  
"Okay." Satisfied, he went back to his drawing, but whirled around when the information finally made it to his brain. "WAIT HE'S YOUR FRIEND?!"  
  
"Yes." Law would never get sick of his reactions. "He's my navigator too."  
  
"Wow that's so cool!"  
  
Some time passed until he had a new question.  
  
"Why does Dorian always wear his," he gestured around his face vaguely, "goggles?"  
  
"It's sunglasses, and it's because his eyes are light sensitive."  
  
"Oh... That must be painful."  
  
"Quite yes, that's why he wears them all the time."  
  
"Okay," Rosi replied softly, deep in thought, "is he your real son or is he adopted?"  
  
Law looked at him from the corner of his eye.  
  
"Adopted. We found him baby on an Island in North blue. His parents were--" He stopped himself mid-sentence, suddenly very aware of Rosi's young age and the nature of the information he was about to disclose. He chanced a look in Delphine's direction and saw that she was frowning back at him. Yeah, better not to say anything more on that subject.  
  
"Well, anyway he was alone and we took him with us."  
  
"Hmm," Rosi hummed distractingly, focused on his drawing.  
  
After that the conversation dulled into small talk, and the day ended up before Law could even acknowledge it. When he stood up and prepared himself to go, putting on his coat while his crew bid their goodbyes and filled out of the house, he wasn't expecting Rosi to fling himself at him and hug his waist tightly.  
  
"Thank you for today Mr. Law," he said, voice muffled by Law's coat, "I love you very much!"  
  
Law froze, the words echoing in his head.  
  
_I love you_. It sounded just the same as when he last said it, more than 40 years ago.  
  
He felt a soft warmth spread through his chest and a pressure at the back of his eyes. If he wasn't so self conscious he would have just cried here and there, hugging Rosi and telling him how much he had missed him and how happy he was to have him around again; but he couldn't. So instead he just patted Rosi's head, murmured a "me too", and detached himself from him before leaving the house in a hurry.  
  
Delphine and Jackie waved at him from the door with Rosi between them jumping and trying to say goodbye as loudly as possible. The night had fallen during his visit and the light coming from inside the house illuminated their familly in a gentle glow.  
  
Law smiled to himself, Rosi's words playing at the back of his mind, and waved back. Maybe this was going to be okay after all.  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Law, out of view : *ugly sobbing*
> 
> Hey, thank you for reading! I hope you liked it! :D
> 
> From next chapter on things begin to get slightly more serious, so I'll add some trigger warnings in the end notes. The current tags can also help, so please stay safe!
> 
> As always feel free to leave kudos, comments, or help me with grammar or spelling mistakes!
> 
> See you soon for the next chapter!!


	5. Now that I've seen your face...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're back to Dorian, and he's not happy about the new turn of events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Sorry for taking so long with this chapter! I had a lot of work these last few months and was very tired for a while, but now I'm feeling better and thus I can give you this new update (which is longer too, yay)!
> 
> Also thanks to everyone who left kudos or comments, they make me really happy and always motivate me to write!!
> 
> I added some warnings in the end notes for possible triggering content as this chapter is a bit more violent than usual, so feel free to take a look and be careful!
> 
> And huge thanks to my beta Rainette, for brainstorming ideas with me and being wonderful in general!

 

 

 

 

 

One day, Dorian was reading one of his favorite books in his bedroom ("Impel down or how to break out of it" by Sir Crocodile), when the muffled sound of a Den den mushi suddenly came to disturb the relative silence.  
  
Since it wasn't very rare in itself, he quickly dismissed it in favor of coming back to his reading. The sudden ruckus that followed a few minutes later pricked his curiosity however, and after putting his book down and jumping off his bed, he walked to the door and opened it just in time to see a blurred Shachi sprint right past him.  
  
"Hey," Dorian asked, surprising the other into an abrupt halt that almost sent him flying backwards, "what's happening?"  
  
"Oh Dorian!" The ginger exclaimed with a little smile, trying to more or less regain his balance, "Don't worry, it's just a little issue with Rosi!"  
  
"Urgh, what's with him again?"  
  
"Well apparently he caught some sort of cold last week, and despite everything his mothers tried he isn't getting any better!"  
  
"Seriously? Why don't they just take him to a doctor?"  
  
"Because they don't have one."  
  
"...Excuse me?"  
  
"It's a tiny Island Dorian."  
  
The blond slapped his forehead with a groan. "I can't believe this."  
  
"But it's alright!" Shachi said with a thumb up (and what he surely thought was a reassuring smile but looked more awkward than anything), "we're just gonna sail there, patch him up, and then everything should be okay!"  
  
And before Dorian could add anything more the ginger was gone, leaving him thoroughly confused and frustrated.  
  
They arrived at the harbor town in three days (a record from where they were to begin with) and rushed to Rosi's house. Dorian was following close with his now eternal baby-sitter, Bepo, when he suddenly got pushed away by a sheepish Penguin as he was about to enter.  
  
"Sorry Dorian, can't let you in there. We don't want you to catch whatever this is so stay outside until we make sure it's not contagious."  
  
Dorian pouted but, in all honesty, he didn't mind it that much. It would all have been about watching his dad and everyone else fret about Rosi anyway, and he didn't really need to be there for that. Wandering around with Bepo was way more fun in any case, or at least it was until he got bored of that bland village that he must have seen a thousand times by now.  
  
And after being in it for 15 minutes, yep bored. They passed several people as Bepo and him walked on the paved road passing through town, all doing their own things and sometimes waving at them with small smiles. Sometimes they would even compliment his sunglasses (which wasn't surprising at all given how cool they were).  
  
The multiple houses and low buildings around them were made of stones and painted a simple shade of beige, with the occasional ivy climbing on them. The roofs were built in red bricks much like Rosi's house and every single one of them had a chimney, a soft smoke wavering at its top.  
  
In the distance there were only fields as far as the eye could see, and a tiny forest too distant to go on foot probably.  
  
While strolling through the alleys, Dorian took Bepo's paws and drapped them over his tiny shoulders like some sort of blanket. It wasn't something he cared to say out loud but the bear's presence was kind of soothing. He always had a difficult time with trust (no one and even less him was able to explain why) but Bepo felt weirdly safe. Loyal, if that made sense.  
  
And also warm and fluffy which was a nice addition.  
  
Speaking of him the bear was oddly silent, not his usual nervous and happy self. Dorian looked up and gave him a questionning look, hoping that he would notice and say something, but he wasn't even looking in his direction. The nerves! He pinched his finger beans lightly and Bepo flinched with a yelp, stopping abruptly to _finally_ pay attention to him.  
  
"Why did you do that?!" He asked with a high pitched voice, rubbing at his painful paw.  
  
"You weren't looking!" Dorian replied in an autoritative tone. "What are you even thinking about?"  
  
Bepo sighed.  
  
"Rosi and the Captain... I hope everything's going to be all right."  
  
Dorian's face fell, figures. His gaze wandered on different stalls and shops as they resumed walking.  
  
"I'm a bit worried," continued Bepo, even though Dorian made it clear that he didn't want to keep the conversation going.  
  
"Hm."  
  
"I know you don't like him much Dorry," Bepo said while bumping his wet snout ( _eurgh_ ) on his head. "But I'm sure if you made an effort you two would actually get along well!"  
  
Dorian huffed and hunched in on himself, clutching Bepo's paws more forcefully. Who said _he_ wanted to get along with Rosi? Ever since they first met the guy had only caused him problems. First he yelled at him for no reason, then he became the center of attention thanks to all this crazy reincarnation stuff, and finally Dorian was punished because he tried to help. Talk about a pain.  
  
"Plus," Bepo cut his train of thoughts with a carefully optimistic voice, "you don't really have much friends in the first place, so it would be nice!"

Dorian sharply turned his head to glare at Bepo.  
  
"I do have friends."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Well," Dorian sputtered, "you!"  
  
"Yeah, but friends your own age and outside of the crew?"

Dorian blinked and went silent, looking away with a frown. Bepo chuckled.  
  
"Listen, it's not that we don't want to spend time with you. Everyone - including Law - love and dearly care about you, but you'll quickly become sick of us if you don't have other friends!"  
  
"And what makes you think Rosi is the best candidate for that?"  
  
"He's almost your age!"

"Yeah, and?"

"Law trusts him!"  
  
"...And?"

Bepo racked his brain for an answer.  
  
"He is... friendly? And you're definitely not, so it could work!"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"What? I love you but it's true, you're like a grumpy man in his forties stuck as a kid!"  
  
"No I'm not!"  
  
"You're always frowning at everything, insult anyone who contradicts you and you talked about the pitiful state of the economy the other day!"  
  
"But it is pitiful, do you even read the newspaper sometimes?!"  
  
"See, I have never seen a child reading the newspaper everyday so dutifully!"  
  
"S-shut up!!"  
  
They kept arguing like that for a little while, when a woman standing next to the door of a little store (the front window filled with plants and glass bottles full of varied mixtures and elixirs) suddenly called out to them.  
  
"Hey," she said, waving in their direction, "you're the guys who visit Rosi every once in awhile right?" She looked middle aged, wearing a long dress and a soft-looking sweater over it. Upon approching Dorian noticed that she smelled a bit like dried flowers, and that her smile created little wrinkles a the sides of her mouth and eyes.  
  
"Yes absolutely," replied Bepo with enthusiasm. "Why?"  
  
"I heard about his illness, his family are friends of mine so I prepared some herbal tea to help his recovery!" She dashed into her shop, and came back just as quickly holding a little metalic box painted with different type of flowers. "He used to pass by after school to say hi, I kind of miss him already, so I hope he'll get better soon!"  
  
"Thank you, we'll do our best!" Bepo said with a little bow.  
  
Dorian took the box from her and turned it around in his hands; it was fairly big for just tea leaves. He opened the lid to check inside and was immediately met with the exact kind of smell he would have imagined for healing herbal tea, strong and overwhelming like a field of wildflowers in his face.  
  
"Honestly," Dorian said with a disgusted expression as he hastily closed the box, "I wonder how any of you are still alive if your only medication is _this_."  
  
"Dorian!" Bepo scolded.

"No don't worry!" The woman waved with a laugh. "He's right, the situation is less than ideal for everyone. But thanks to our renowned vegetable productions some nobles have been interested in our Island for a little while and plan on doing business with us, so maybe it'll bring a doctor here!"  
  
"Really?! That would be so great!" Bepo replied enthusiastically.  
  
"Absolutly! Oh by the way, some of them are gonna visit in a few days so I'd stay at Delphine and Jackie's home for the duration of their stay if I were you. These high-ranking peoples don't like pirates that much, and they're not afraid of calling the marines on you."  
  
"We'll do that, thanks m'am!"  
  
Bepo bowed again and they finally took their leave, wandering around town a little bit more before returning to Rosi's house. They knocked at the door and Law opened it with a pale and tired face.  
  
"What?" He grumbled.  
  
"A nice lady gave us tea for Rosi!" Announced Bepo cheerfully, showing the box to their Captain whom gave it a dubious look at best.  
  
"Tea?" He raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Herbal tea actually," corrected Dorian.  
  
"Yeah whatever." He took the box and inspected it the same way Dorian did, opening the lid and scrunching his nose against the smell.  
  
"It stinks."  
  
"CAPTAIN!" Shouted Bepo, startling said captain and Dorian. "The lady was very nice with us and seemed to know Rosi's family, so at least give it a try please!"  
  
Law gave Bepo a sceptical look, but eventually gave up and turned back inside the house, leaving the door open behind him.  
  
"Okay, sure."  
  
Bepo and Dorian glanced through the threshold curiously, the bear's arms still draped around the kid's shoulders. There was a few of their crewmates sitting in the living room, but not much going on aside from that.  
  
"You can come in if you want, we checked and it's not contagious," Law told them from somewhere further in the house.  
  
They did as they were told and Bepo left Dorian's side to go talk with Ikkaku, whom was comfortably sat on a bench next to a big window.  
  
Left to his own devices Dorian wandered around the house for a little while; it wasn't very interesting overall except for some weird drawings pinned on the fridge, all of them depicting some sort of surgeries with doctors covered in blood and organs (and also a strangely realistic heart). It was kind of cool if he was being honest, but Dorian quickly found himself bored and decided to go play outside until Law was done.  
  
Which happened to not be anytime soon, as they stayed on the island for _days_.  
  
Rosi seemed to have caught a fairly common flu, but thanks to the lack of a proper doctor and the colder weather it had become way worse than they anticipated. Law used his powers to bring his fever down and aleviate the muscles pain as much as possible, but from then on all they could do was give him medication and wait.  
  
Dorian didn't feel particularly concerned by all of this however, and spent most of his time playing outside with Bepo, roaming around town or borrowing some of Delphine's books (his dad was too busy to check on him and thus he was able to sneak out more easily from the "babysitter at all times" punishment).  
  
But even then, it quickly became dull. Bepo never stayed too long out of worry for Law, the fields in the distance were all empty except for vegetables and crops, the forest was too far to go on foot, and the village didn't suddenly become more interesting overnight - not to mention the local kids that were still playing pretend or catch. Talk about fun.  
  
Maybe it was all these days of boredom that lead him one night to change his habits, and ask if he could stay in Rosi's house with the others instead of going back to the submarine (and perhaps also the fact that Bepo was on guard duty that evening and Dorian couldn't sleep without his favorite fluffy pillow, but he wasn't going to say _that_ ).  
  
Law accepted surprisingly easily, and Rosi's mothers proceeded to set up a bed for him on the couch and a mattress for his father next to it. Then they all ate dinner in a rather peaceful atmosphere, before Rosi's mothers brought a bowl of soup in their child's room and Law walked to the kitchen counter, taking the little box of herbal tea they had given him a few days ago.  
  
"You're gonna make tea?" Dorian asked in a disinterested tone, watching him curiously from the table.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Don't you always say those things are just a big scam though?"  
  
Law shrugged and silently searched for something a few seconds, before retrieving an old pot from the depths of a closet.  
  
"I have nothing to lose at this point," he said, inspecting the object with narrowed eyes. He really needed glasses.  
  
"It's that bad then?"  
  
Law didn't answer and filled the pot with tape water instead, placing it on the stove and turning a small button that lit a little fire underneath it. Then he left the water to heat and grabbed some mugs and a teapot from the cupboard.  
  
"... Are you gonna make a cup of tea for me too?"  
  
Law dropped one of the mugs he was holding, managing to catch it at the last second with fumbling hands.  
  
"What?" He sputtered, turning to Dorian with wide eyes.  
  
"Are you gonna make a cup of herbal tea for me too?" He repeated in an exasperated tone.  
  
Law gaped at him like he had just been asked to turn the Polar tang into a spaceship and direct it to the moon.  
  
"I thought you didn't like it?"  
  
"So what? Does that mean I can't try?" Dorian spat back.  
  
"I didn't say-"  
  
"Then make me some tea."  
  
Law raised an eyebrow.  
  
"...please." Dorian mumbled.  
  
His father sighed. "Alright, sure."  
  
When the water began to boil, Law turned the fire off and put on some oven mitts to grab the burning pot. After that he began to slowly pour its content in the tea pot (staying careful not to burn himself in the process) and put the ustensil back down on a cold part of the stove when he was done.  
  
Opening the storage cabinets, he started to search for some infuser (which proved to be a much more harduous task than he had anticipated if the insanities he grumbled under his breath were any indication), and put a bit of the herbal leaves in the one he eventually find before dropping the thing in the hot water.  
  
Several minutes passed in silence, the bitter smell of the beverage starting to spread through the room, when Law's head suddenly snapped up towards Dorian with wide eyes.  
  
"Wait, are you jealous?" He asked, the right corner of his mouth turning up in a side smile.  
  
A furious blush bloomed on Dorian's cheeks.  
  
"WHAT?! Jealous of who?!"  
  
"Of Rosi, because I'm taking care of him and you feel left out!"  
  
"NO I'M NOT!"  
  
"Ooh you _are_ jealous!" Law giggled.  
  
"I'M NOT!" Dorian flinged his fists on the table.  
  
His father made a sign for him to calm down and Dorian blew air out of his nose as he crossed his arms over his chest. Law poured the fresh herbal tea in the mugs with a snort, and walked to the table where he placed one in front of Dorian.  
  
"Uh?"  
  
"Here. Don't say that your dad does nothing for you after that," Law said with a smirk.  
  
Dorian huffed. "Like you ever do anything for me."  
  
"You brat!" Law barked a laugh and ruffled his hair, to what Dorian pushed his hand away with a small smile.  
  
"I'll try to find some time so we can train together or something, alright?" Law continued with a gentler expression. "Now drink that herbal tea and go to sleep, it's late."  
  
Dorian groaned and slid down in his chair, his father walking away with a chuckle to give Rosi his herbal tea. What a stupid, stupid dad. Dorian turned back to his own mug and wrinkled his nose at the weird amber color of the water. No way in hell was he going to drink that.  
  
Suddenly the front door opened to reveal Bepo whistling some tune, the bear oblivious to the wave of cold air he was letting inside the house.  
  
"Bepo close that door, it's freezing!" Dorian shouted.  
  
"Oh sorry!" He shut the door quickly and tapped his dirty feet on the mat. "With my fur I don't really feel the cold!"  
  
Dorian rolled his eyes and rubbed at his arms. "You don't say. What were you doing anyway?"  
  
"Getting some fresh air before the night shift!" Bepo replied with his usual cheerfulness.  
  
"Night shift? You mean you're gonna stay awake all night?"  
  
"Yup, I'll be right here in case little Rosi needs anything!" He mimicked some sort of martial arts movements and Dorian snorted.  
  
"Are you gonna fight him or something?"  
  
"No! I'll fight his illness!"  
  
"That's so dumb!" Dorian giggled.  
  
Bepo smiled and sat down on one of the chairs next to him.  
  
"Oh but it's late young man, you need to have some sleep!"  
  
"Already?! It's only 9!" Dorian complained. But he knew that when Bepo wanted him to go to sleep there was no arguing it. He tried once (even fled from the window of his bedroom) but it backfired badly and he got the scolding of his life. He was not trying that again until he had a solid... plan. Wait.  
  
"I didn't drink my herbal tea yet!" He pointed to it victoriously.  
  
Bepo's eyes followed the movement and he hummed.  
  
"Well... okay, you drink that and then you go to sleep!" He nodded.  
  
"YEAH!" Dorian yelled, but was shushed right away by a big disgusting fluffy paw on the mouth.  
  
But not as disgusting as the herbal tea, which he discovered was _horrible_.  
  
  
  
  
Later that night he had a weird dream.  
  
He was sitting on a large stool in a big white room, the walls and floor the same kind of rich marble you would find in a manor. A soft wind was passing through a slightly open bay window, making the curtains moving alongside it, and in front of him stood a luxurious piano.  
  
It was beautiful, the sunlight reflecting on its spotless black surface and open keyboard just like some of the pictures in Dorian's encyclopedias. Curiosity taking the best of him, he was lifting a tentative hand towards it when a sudden high note sounded at his right and startled him to a stop.  
  
Turning his head in its direction he saw Rosi, sitting beside him as if he had always been there.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Dorian asked, cringing at the sound of his own voice echoing throughout the room.  
  
The other didn't answer and only inspected him with a calm and careful expression, before focusing back on the piano and starting a soft melody. Dorian watched in silent awe, thoroughly surprised by the unexpected skill.  
  
Despite the infuriating ease with which Rosi seemed to play kind of gratting on his nerves, Dorian listened with attention. The music was stirring something inside him; like an old, burning feeling akin to what he would call nostalgia.  
  
But Rosi suddenly stopped.  
  
Dorian looked up with a questionning furrow of his brow and was met with the other's owlish, hopeful black eyes staring back at him.  
  
"What? What do you want?"  
  
Rosi smiled and tilted his head towards the piano in a wordless invitation.  
  
"What?!" Dorian yelped in surprise. "No no no no no, I don't even know how to play!"  
  
Rosi pouted a little, but returned to his melody without further inquiries. As the music filled the room once again - Rosi's hands sliding on the keyboard with practiced ease - the nostalgic feeling from earlier came back to nag at Dorian.  
  
Maybe that was what prompted him to finally play along in the end, but as he tentatively hit the keys he discovered that - instead of the cacophony he had first been expecting - he was actually creating a melody. And one that perfectly completed Rosi's own at that.  
  
Like a missing part that now created a new song entirely.  
  
A smile spread on his lips. It felt _right_ , as if they had repeated this a million times already.  
  
He spared a glance at his right and noticed with surprise that, unlike him, Rosi was wearing a strained expression. Dorian frowned. "Ros-"

A chorus of muffled voices and footsteps abruptly interrupted them before he could ask, and both children turned to the single door of the room with wide eyes. They barely had the time to exchange a worried look that an angry mob bursted inside with torches and weapons.  
  
Rosi yelled - a horrible, strident sound that echoed inside Dorian's chest - and they were both quickly attacked from all sides and thrown on the ground.  
  
Dorian tried to reach for Rosi but they took him away, so he kicked and punched and bit, but they were too many and he was too _weak_. One of the mob's people next to him lit an arrow aflame and aimed it right at his face, so Dorian closed his eyes shut and-  
  
  
  
  
He awoke with a start, covered in sweat and tangled in a duvet with the unpleasant feeling of being way too hot. His breath erratic and mind still blurry from sleep, he uncurled from his makeshift bed and sit up.  
  
He felt so, so sick. A bright, hot pain was flarring in his left eye and he clutched at it with a groan. His cloudy thoughts were filled with pictures of the dream he just had, leaving a sour and disgusting feeling in his stomach.  
  
He stood up feverishly from the couch and looked around, wondering where he was for a minute before remembering the past day's event. Then he tried to make a few trembling steps forward, the darkness of the room making it quite difficult to see past his feet, when a loud snore startled him.  
  
Paralysed, he waited with batted breath for what felt like hours until another snore sounded and he could pinpoint it's location. It was coming from a large white and orange mass laying on a bench, its middle moving in a steady rythm like it was... breathing? Dorian heaved a huge sigh of relief, _it was just Bepo who fell asleep on the job.  
  
_ After his initial shock passed - his heart still hammering in his chest - he let his body lead him and kept walking onward, forgetting that his father was sleeping on the floor and almost crushing his stomach on the way.  
  
Within a few minutes he was in Rosi's bedroom.  
  
He carefully dodged Rosi's mothers (both of them sleeping on some mat) and climbed in his bed. Then he sat and waited for the tell-tale rise and fall of his chest. It felt like a long moment for his blurry mind when he finally saw the soft breathing of the other boy, and he let out a relieved sigh.  
  
Feeling a bit better, he lifted the covers and curled up next to him. He didn't really know why it was suddenly so important, but he just wanted to stay with Rosi and make sure nobody would ever hurt them anymore.  
  
He fell asleep to the sound of his heartbeats.  
  
  
  
  
Another dream.  
  
This time he found himself in one of the multiple hallways of the Polar Tang; or what looked like it, the set being slightly different with more doors than usual aligned on the foreign wooden walls and a brand new crimson carpet spread over the lenght of the path.  
  
He took a look around with a worried frown, making a few steps forward, when a familiar little voice suddenly call him in the distance and he stopped dead in his tracks.  
  
Rosi?  
  
That's right, he had been with Rosi a moment before. What were they doing already, playing piano? Yes, that's it. And then people came in and-  
  
A cold sweat spread through his entire body at the realisation.  
  
What happened? Were the angry people gone? Hadn't... hadn't Rosi been with him just a minute ago? _What was going on?!_  
  
Dorian stumbled on the carpet as he rushed to open all the doors of the hallway one after the other.  
  
"Rosi!" Empty.  
  
"Are you in there?!" Empty.  
  
"ROSI!" He was nowhere to be seen. Crap, what if he was too late? What if they-  
  
Dorian clenched his fists and closed his eyes against the thought. Rosi and him might have never gotten along very well (and that was an understatement) but... he couldn't just give up on him like that.  
  
Don't get him wrong it was tempting, even more with the possibility of the angry mob still being around somewhere, but he couldn't. Not like that.  
  
Not after playing piano with him.  
  
He could still feel this sticky familiarity in his chest, this burning sensation gripping his heart and making him want to destroy everything and cry in frustration at the same time. How playing with him had been like coming back home after a long and exhausting journey.  
  
He tried to compose himself and took a deep breath. He'd find him.  
  
With renewed conviction he walked to yet another door and lifted his hand, ready to open it, when a black shape suddenly appeared in the corner of his vision and startled him.  
  
He whirled around to see what it was but only found the empty hallway, with no one else but him in sight. Weird. He waited a few more seconds just in case, but eventually decided to resume his search as nothing more seemed to happen.  
  
He turned into a corner and kept going through another corridor, sparing a look behind him every now and again.  
  
"Rosi, where are you?" He called, cupping his mouth with a hand. "Rosi!"

Something dark and blurry springed right past him and Dorian couldn't help a yelp. His heart hammered in his chest as he turned around in a defensive position, raising his fists high to protect himself.  
  
"W-who are you and what do you want?! I'm not afraid!" He shouted, his voice cracking at the end of the sentence.

He was met with silence, the hallway staring back at him with deceptive emptiness. Dorian stayed still for a long moment, expecting someone to come out and attack him, but just like the last time nothing happened.  
  
"You better not follow me anymore you freak, get away!" He yelled at the walls like they would answer him.  
  
Then he kept searching, even more paranoid of every sound than before.  
  
After a while, Dorian had seen enough of this place to safely assume that it wasn't the Polar tang. Not only the layout was different, but every room he had visited up until now were very generic; like closets, offices, or simple bedrooms. There was no engine room, no infirmary, not even _stairs._ Just eternal hallways leading to nowhere with no one else than him.  
  
Well. Besides the dark blur from earlier (if you could call it a living being), which seemed to appear everytime he called for Rosi and vanish as soon as Dorian looked for it. Retracing his steps proved to be pointless as well, as there never was any trace of it ever being there in the first place.  
  
It was infuriating, and left him with the unpleasant impression of being constantly watched.  
  
Dorian was even beginning to think that he might get caught before finding an exit or Rosi, when the other boy's faint voice suddenly sounded from a room further ahead. Dorian didn't lose any time running to it and throwing the door open.  
  
"ROSI!"  
  
The inside was surprinsingly different from what he had been expecting. It was way more spacious than any of the other rooms up until now, enough to fit a large group of people in relative comfort, and had a big table covered with diverse foods standing in the middle (he couldn't see well with his size, but it smelled like pizza or something) and several chairs aligned all around it neatly.  
  
It kind of gave a general feeling of some sort of mess hall. On the opposite wall there also was a door (the first one outside of the hallways since he entered this place) and a few windows facing outwards. Could this be a way out?  
  
"Rosi?" Dorian repeated, taking a careful step forward.  
  
No sign of the boy. He had been so _sure_ that his voice came from here though, did Rosi left through that door before he arrived? A sudden glint at his left grabbed his attention and Dorian momentarily forgot about the issue at hand, turning his head towards the flash of light and locating its source on the table.  
  
Crossing the small distance separating them, he stood on his tip-toes and discovered that it was a gun - its golden handle catching the sun's rays next to a weird fruit. Dorian's eyes widened and he ignored the fruit (it didn't look very healthy anyway) in favor of the weapon, grabbing it and falling back on his heels to properly inspect the firearm.  
  
Law despised guns, so he never had the occasion to hold or use one, but he couldn't help thinking that it was pretty.  
  
...Maybe he could keep it.  
  
With the blurry thing following him around and the strangeness of this place, it was only a safety measure right? ...Yeah.  
  
Having no holster to put it in he tucked the gun in his shorts and, with nothing else to do in this room, decided to leave through the newly found door.  
  
But just as he opened it he was struck by a cold wind seeping through the resulting gap, the following drop in temperature freezing him to the core. Hugging himself to regain some semblance of warmth, he chanced a glance at his surroundings and discovered with great surprise that a snowy landscape stretched as far as the eye could see in front of him; the edge of a forest also visible a little further away.  
  
What the hell, where was he now?! He didn't know if he should be happy to finally be outside or angry that _this_ was the outside.  
  
He hesitated for a minute, his body still basking in the warmth emanating from the building behind him, when a memory of the thing still lurking inside crossed his mind and he stumbled away in a hurry as far from it as possible.  
  
He discovered that the layer of snow was thick, his feet sinking so deep into it that it could touch his bare ankles, and began to shiver as the cold quickly numbed his senses.  
  
He wasn't even sure if his... friend -for a lack of a better word- had also gotten out of this labyrinthic place, but he chose to believe that he did and kept going anyway (how could he have left that room without Dorian noticing otherwise).  
  
As he eventually reached the edge of the forest, another set of footsteps suddenly crunched the snow a few feet away from him and Dorian stopped dead in his tracks.  
  
Rosi? No wait, what if it was that thing again? Maybe it had followed him outside?!  
  
His fears were soon eased when a boy appeared from behind a tree. He was small (maybe even more than Dorian), wrapped in a sort of cape hiding most of his features, and was wearing a hat eerily similar to his father's own covering his black hair. The only visible parts of his face were his mottled skin -covered in white patches- and his eyes. His piercing, grey eyes.  
  
"W-who are you?" Dorian asked, the words shaky thanks to his chattering teeth, "what are you doing here?"  
  
The other kid turned to Dorian with a face similar to a hunted deer's, right before something like recognition crossed his features and he ran away in the opposite direction.

"WAIT!"  
  
Dorian tried to follow him as best he could (this boy was the first person he'd seen since he entered this place after all), and ran again and again, until the other kid entered a sort of abandonned village and Dorian slowed down.  
  
It was in a pitiful state, most of its structures covered with a considerable amount of snow and either in ruins or abandonned. In the distance a dark smoke seemed to emanate from a burning building, and Dorian wondered for a brief moment what might have happened there when he caught something far more concerning out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Further up the road, their blood melting the snow around them into big red puddles, bodies were littering the ground. People of all age and gender, all most likely dead.  
  
What the... What was that?! How did they-  
  
He took a tentative step back but collided with something, and whirled around only to have a facefull of feathers. Sputtering, he tried to stumble away blindly but lost his balance and fell on his backside.  
  
Then he looked up in a hurry and discovered a giant figure towering over him; its thin body covered in black feathers save for his distorted bird legs, a red hat, and some blond tufts of loose hair (or fur?) around what he supposed was its head.  
  
Oh. This was the blur. _This_ was the thing that had been following him around all this time, wasn't it?  
  
The bird-like monster tilted its head on the side and leant forward, its eyes hidden behind its large golden bangs.  
  
Then it raised a hand towards him - a long, scrawny hand, with fingers like sticks full of little cuts and scars and feathers piercing through its skin - and Dorian woke up from the transe he hadn't feel himself fall into.  
  
He reached for the gun tucked away in his shorts, his trembling hands missing it once or twice, and pointed it at the stranger.  
  
"S-STAY BACK!" He yelled, the gun sliding a little bit from his cold, numb fingers. The figure stiffened, as if surprised, and backed off a little.  
  
It didn't seem to want to attack him right now, was it afraid of the gun? What was it trying to do? What did it want from him? Dorian was too caught up in his own mind to see the gun slipping more and more from his grip, and panicked when the thing reached for it.  
  
A deafening sound erupted from the firearm and Dorian felt himself propulsed back. His vision blurred for a while, along with his head spinning, and when the initial shock subsided he slowly opened his eyes and tried to sat up. The monster was laying down, blood dripping from a wound on his chest in a rythmic flow.  
  
Dorian breathed an exhilarated laugh. Finally! He stood up with weak legs and made his way to its body, nudging it with his foot.  
  
"Eh, not so tough now huh?"

"What have you done."  
  
Dorian snapped his attention to the source of the voice. It was the kid from earlier, he was standing a few feet away from him with a sort of heart-shaped fruit carefully held in his hands.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why did you do that..." he murmured, his voice low and trembling, "he didn't even do anything to you!"  
  
Dorian scowled. "What are you talking about, it was following me around everywhere and even tried to attack me, I just defended myself!"  
  
The kid clenched his fists and gave Dorian the most murderous glare he had ever seen.  
  
"You'll pay for this," he said with certitude, before darting away and disappearing between the buildings.  
  
Dorian frowned, what was this guy about? He really just did what anyone else would have in his situation. A muffled sound reached his ears and Dorian focused back on the monster's body, only to see that nothing of it was left except for a giant feather coat.  
  
"What the hell..."  
  
He walked to it and hesitated for a minute, but eventually grabbed a corner of the hide and lifted it up. Under the coat was Rosi's body, the same one that he had been searching for all this time, now curled up on the snow and bleeding from an identical wound the monster had.  
  
That Dorian inflicted. The gun fell from his hand.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Dorian woke up yelling.

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for : Illness, nightmares, fire, blood, guns, gunshot, gunshot wounds, death, dead bodies, body horror, claustrophobia.
> 
> I'm covering my bases here, but if I missed anything you can tell me and I'll add it to the list! :)
> 
> And here you go, I hope you liked this chapter! :D 
> 
> The music Rosi and Dorian are playing on the piano in the first dream is this one : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu-OMOp2aAo
> 
> And if you're curious about what the monster in the second dream looks like, here's a drawing I made of it (warning: slight body horror) : https://www.instagram.com/p/BlTiFJhjhAQ/?taken-by=laurelflower003
> 
> Thank you again for reading, and as always feel free to leave kudos, comments, or help me with english or grammatical mistakes!
> 
> See you! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Here you go, hope you liked it! :D
> 
> The mothers are reincarnated characters too, but I'm not saying who they are or it wouldn't be fun ah ah! There are hints here and there in later chapters though, so keep an eye out!
> 
> The title and chapters' names are from the song "The Stranger" by Lord Huron (you can find it here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oVsdiPTsv8 ), which is very good and inspired me for this fic! Give it a try if you can! 
> 
> Also feel free to leave kudos, comments or impressions and to tell me if I should add some tags! 
> 
> I'd love to have your thoughts on this! :D
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you soon!


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